Public

Driving Electronic Content Discovery and Usage: Communication – Part 2

Posted on September 9, 2015
Posted by Jan Snyder and Jennifer Maurer

Part II 

As we wrote in Part I of this series, we feel privileged to have a very rich collection of Gale databases and eBooks at our fingertips to use with students and staff, at zero cost to us, through the Oregon State Library’s Statewide Database Licensing Program. Statewide access provides consistency for students as they move from elementary to middle school and then high school.

But the real value and power of these resources are unleashed when librarians and educators collaborate and communicate.  In the second part of this blog series, we’ll discuss – from our own perspectives – communication.
(If you missed it, be sure to also read Part I — Driving Electronic Content Discovery and Usage: Collaboration.)

Jennifer

Electronic Mailing List:
While presenting about Gale databases to various audiences falls under the heading of training, it is also a form of communication. However, I also have a direct channel of communication about OSLIS and its resources, including the statewide databases. The State Library created an electronic mailing list called OSLIST. As I learn about new school library staff in Oregon, I automatically subscribe them. Through OSLIST, I share ideas for how to use the databases as well as communicate about new Gale products and features.

Read moreDriving Electronic Content Discovery and Usage: Communication – Part 2

Gale’s In Context Just Keeps Getting Better!

Posted on September 3, 2015

There is more exciting news for our fans of Gale’s In Context suite. Recent enhancements rolled-out this week make it even easier for students and teachers to quickly access, use, and share content for homework and class assignments. Take a look at what’s new:

Read moreGale’s In Context Just Keeps Getting Better!

Put Preschoolers in Your Community on a Path to Learning

Pre-K learning for public libraries

Offer highly-visual and content-rich digital learning that will appeal to young children who are at the peak of curiosity and wonderment. With accessibility on tablets and smart phones, and anytime, anywhere access, educational materials are now easier than ever to integrate into daily life.

Read morePut Preschoolers in Your Community on a Path to Learning

Back to School Britannica Savings

Save 30% on nonfiction eBooks for your pre-k, elementary, middle, and high school learners. Britannica Digital Learning offers online PreK-16 resources and instructional solutions that align to Common Core and state curriculum standards and are built upon Britannica’s reputation for trustworthy, up-to-date information, innovative development, and state-of-the-art delivery.

GVRL supports differentiated learning for learners of all ages with cover-to-cover PDF format delivers a colorful, visual experience to engage younger readers. Plus, ReadSpeaker text-to-speech technology is ideal for struggling readers, ELL/ESL students.

Read moreBack to School Britannica Savings

Gale Technical Solutions: Custom Solutions for Your Library

By. Scott Steward

Gale, a part of Cengage Learning understands that each library has its own set of unique needs, and what works for one library may not work for another.  We know that in many cases the “one size fits all” approach to implementation is a compromise to what is just good enough. Instead of making you settle for what is just good enough, Gale wants you and your users to have the best possible experience using our products, and sometimes that requires a custom solution.

Read moreGale Technical Solutions: Custom Solutions for Your Library

Content Updates for Gale’s In Context (week of 8/24/2015)

Posted on August 27, 2015

New content and resources have been added to one of your favorite In Context databases. See what’s new!

Global Issues in Context

Two new portals were launched: Al-Shabab and MERS (Middle East Repository Syndrome in addition to 125 portal pages being updated in the last two weeks. Some of the topics included in the updates are:

Read moreContent Updates for Gale’s In Context (week of 8/24/2015)

Content Updates for Kids InfoBits (week of 8/24/2015)

Posted on August 27, 2015

Take a look at the latest content that has been added to Kids InfoBits:

  • The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia has increased its content with the addition of Quarterly updates.
  • Under the category of Fish, six new entries have been made include Angelfish, Mollie, and the Mullet.
  • New homepage snippets (InfoBits) have been added for September including:
    • Museums feature in the Arts category
    • Back to School in the People category
    • Labor Day, which is September 7, in the Social Studies category
    • Read-A-New-Book-Month which is in September will be featured in the Literature category
    • Football is featured in the Sports category
  • Over 450 entries have been updated, with many of them focusing on marine life, contemporary figures and countries. Some of these that you’ll see are:

Read moreContent Updates for Kids InfoBits (week of 8/24/2015)

5 Ways to Increase Gale Courses Traffic Online from Greene County Public Library

By Anne Nagrant, Customer Success Manager

Posted on August 26, 2015

Greene County Public Library in Ohio recently renewed their annual subscription to Gale Courses –online, instructor-led classes which are free to library cardholders. Tamar Kreke, Adult and Technical Services Coordinator, shares five things her library does to recruit students to the resource:

  • Gale Courses is posted on their website under Digital Collections instead of the “Research” page where databases are listed. Tamar knows that Greene County patrons are already going to Overdrive, Zinio, and Mango, so she feels that people are more likely to come across Gale Courses in the same area where these other high-trafficked products are found. The library also created its own landing page about Gale Courses, with a description and more information about it.

Read more5 Ways to Increase Gale Courses Traffic Online from Greene County Public Library

Understanding (and meeting) Community Needs
with Analytics On Demand

Mussman, Amber-2By Amber Mussman, Community Relations Manager, Cedar Rapids Public Library

Public libraries in the 21st century are regularly faced with the question of relevance. They fight an ongoing battle for funding, loss of staff, and a constant lack of resources. In 2015, with two brand new libraries open and a very new director in place, the Cedar Rapids Public Library realized that in order to continue to be successful we must focus our efforts on meeting our community needs and telling our story.

In order to be able to accurately respond to the needs of our patrons, we needed to have the right tools. Analytics On Demand offers us the ability to use real data to drive our programming, marketing and strategic planning. Through the use of Patron Profiles, we are able to understand how our library is aligned with the community as well as find opportunities for growth.

Read moreUnderstanding (and meeting) Community Needs
with Analytics On Demand

Pick and Grin. Subscribe and Smile. Choose and Wallow.

Whatever way you look at it, when you choose a large print subscription to continually update and refresh your collection, you’ll be glad you did. How? Well, we can think of 36 ways. Thorndike Press has 36 different plans to suit your patrons’ interests: from African-American titles to Christian Fiction to Gentle Romance to Westerns — and everything in between.

Read morePick and Grin. Subscribe and Smile. Choose and Wallow.